For the next few months the plan is to study the first half of Mark's Gospel but before we begin our study in Chapter 1, I want to introduce the writer, John Mark. We know a fair bit about him from the Book of Acts. Here is a brief outline of a character study of the writer of the second Gospel.
Circumstances We know his mother's name was Mary (which seems to have been a popular name in Palestine in the first century). We know nothing about his father - the New Testament is silent and conjecture is not helpful. Mark's mother was obviously well known to Peter the apostle. As soon as he was released from prison, Peter went to Mary's home.
When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. [Acts 12:12 NIV]
When Peter had realised that God had delivered him from the clutches of Herod and he had been rescued by an angel, he made his way to this home. There is some suggestion that this was a fairly well-to-do family: Mary had a house big enough for a prayer meeting which seems to have been well attended. She also had a servant by the name of Rhoda. John Mark was brought up by a mother who opened her home for other Christians and she valued prayer enough to arrange for a prayer meeting in her home.
Companions John Mark was blessed with good Christian friends by the name of Paul and Barnabas as well as Peter. He was probably younger than these three men but they must have made an impact on his life and his values. So John Mark kept company with godly men and women. Peter may have been Mark's spiritual father (in other words, it might have been Peter who led Mark to trust in Jesus of Nazareth as His Saviour (See 1 Peter 5:13 where Peter refers to Mark as his son).
Commission John Mark was commissioned for service for the Lord. We discover that he is entrusted with an important task of being an attendant to Paul and Barnabas as they on the trip from Jerusalem to Antioch (as part of Paul's first missionary journey). What role would John Mark perform. He is an assistant or servant to these two men. The Greek word is huperetes which literally means an under-rower. This Greek word is made up of two stems - hupo = under and eretes = a rower. I have a picture in my mind of the ancient ships with their rows of rowers all taking order. There is a word for sailor which is nautes but John Mark was taken on as someone who would take orders from a superior. The same word is used in Luke 4:20, for example.
I reckon that John Mark would be expected to do his share of lifting and carrying and maybe food preparation and washing dishes. These are all very necessary tasks and every church and every Christian organisation needs people to do manual tasks.
In the next Day Share, we will see how John Mark performed as an assistant. For today, we would like to emphasise two points about the writer of the Second Gospel. Firstly, he was immensely privileged in his favourable circumstances and Christian companions. Are we grateful for a Christian environment and for Godly companions? Secondly, he was taken on by Paul and Barnabus as a servant - one who would be an assistant in the service for the Lord. Are we prepared to take the lowly place or are we eager for prominence and position?
Photo by Teen Prayer Group on Unsplash. There was a prayer meeting at the home of John Mark.
I develop that in one blog.
Connection with Peter - Mark's gospel is really Peter's gospel. Mark is the author but Peter is the eye witness source.